Looks Like Kubiak trying save his job NOT the team .. This season is turning into the best reality show in Houston right now, and the Texans are slowly sliding into the top portion of the 2014 NFL Draft. The center of what happen on Sunday in the 28-23 loss to the Oakland Raiders is Head Coach Gary Kubiak. Kubiak made probably the biggest move of the 20123 season by returning the offense back quarterback Matt Schaub after some early struggles from Case Keenum. Once again the name of the game was offensive struggles with the offensive philosophy, pass protection, lack of running game, turnovers and lack of red zone success. All factors that have plagued the Texans this season offensively. Kubiak Trying To Win Not Evaluate At the 2:26 mark late in the third quarter, Kubiak replaced Keenum with Schaub and the fans of Relaint made themselves heard with the disapproval of the move. Schaub came in a produced the normal field goal game that Texans’ fans have grown accustomed too, and ended up stalling inside the red zone on 4th down to turn the ball over on downs late in the 4th quarter. Despite the move by Kubiak there is more to the story in our eyes and it starts with the week he was off from the team. This is all speculation but there is reason to believe that Kubiak’s job is in serious jeopardy especially with some key factors showing up since he went down with his TIA against the Indianapolis Colts. Kubiak clearly is not 100% with his early return, especially with him being sent to the coaches box upstairs away from the stress of the side line. If his doctors and team were giving him a clean bill of health they would have no issues with him on the sideline. Second, the move to replace Keenum was a sign that Kubiak is in win mode and not evaluation mode for the remainder of the season. If Kubiak was in evaluation mode then he would have no issues sticking with Keenum to see what he could do. Something has changed for Kubiak and the move to Schaub shows the desperation for him to find a way to win. All logic has gone out the doors and Kubiak is now doing things he has to do to produce a win. He is trying to make these wins happen with his quarterback in Schaub and the truth is that Keenum is not his quarterback he traded for. The move against the Raiders was to prove he still has what it takes to be the coach of this team, but this move just adds to the questionable decisions that have already been made by this coaching staff this year. Accountability Arriving A Little Late For the first time all season the Texans on both sides of the football played the accountability card for poor play on Sunday. Offensively rookie DeAndre Hopkins was benched for mistakes he made in the first half and saw little time for the remainder of the game that resulted in 2 targets and 1 catch for 7 yards. Dennis Johnson didn’t see much of the field after not breaking an arm tackle on a key 3rd and 1 in the 1st quarter and some key pass protection breakdowns. Also, with Keenum’s so-called “struggles” he was given a quick hook when things got a little rough for the offense. On the defensive side cornerback Brice McCain struggled by giving up two touchdown passes early in the 1st quarter and he was quickly replaced by Brandon Harris for the remainder of the game. All of these moves would have been good when they were needed most at the beginning of the season when the season could have been maintained. Special Teams Kept the Texans in the Game This is by no way an endorsement to keep Joe Marciano in Houston as the special teams coach, but the special teams unit did what they had to win the game today. A muffed punt by Keshawn Martin turned into a 87 yard return where he made people miss and he showed he could separate with his speed to get into the endzone. Not the way anyone wants to draw it up, but Martin made a positive play that started off ugly. Shane Lechler was flipping the field and downed two more inside the 20 yard line and not to mention he averaged 49.1 yards a punt. Even kicker Randy Bullock got in on the fun where he drilled a 51 yard field goal and went 3 for 3 in field goal attempts today. This is the type of season it has been, the special teams unit kept the Texans alive in this game. This is for a unit that has struggled the entire season and it shows the inconsistency that has plagued the team all season. The Three Plays that Did the Texans In 1. (13:38) 1st quarter, 3rd and 2, First Drive of the Game Case Keenum hit Garrett Graham for a 10 yard game, and Charles Woodson strips Graham to cause the fumble. 6 plays later the Raiders score a touchdown. Score: 7-0 2. (4:01) 1st quarter, 1st and 10 from the Texans 5 yard line Chris Myers lets his man beat him and hit Keenum in the middle of his throw on a pass attempt to an open Garrett Graham. The wobbly pass is intercepted by linebacker Nick Roach. The next play the Raiders pass for another touchdown. Score: 14-0 3. (2:39) 3rd quarter, 1st and 10 from Oakland 20 yard line The Raiders are in the wildcat and it is direct snaps to Raider running back Rashad Jennings. He goes unotuched into the second level of the defense and meets safety D.J. Swearinger. Swearinger gets trucked by Jennings after trying to give him a shoulder in the hole. Jennings runs right through Swearinger and 80 yards later he outruns the defense to the endzone. Score: 28-17 The Three That Showed Up Jeff Tarpinian He was brought off the streets to fill a roster spot and with Joe Mays out for the game, Tarpinian went to work. He totaled 11 tackles and played the run strong and even got a pass deflection. He showed he could produce against the Arizona Cardinals last week, and today he built on that performance. There is not much more you can ask from a street free agent, but he is making plays needed in both the run game and in coverage to find a way to stay on the field. J.J. Watt Two more sacks to his stat list and the only real threat on the defensive line for the Texans defense. His numbers are no where close to where they were last season, but his production that are not stats are off the charts. He is still causing disruptions and commanding attention from opposing teams because there is no one else in the Texans front 7 that can consistently beat one on ones. Watt is still the best defensive player on the team but he needs help. Keshawn Martin The game still ended in a loss, but Martin made some things happen with the football especially with his 87 yard punt return for a touchdown. He also chipped two catches for 32 yards and did what he had to do to make a positive impact on the game. Martin has struggled mightily this season, but he did his part to help the Texans pull out a win against the Raiders. The Spat Understand both Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson had roles in this verbal altercation. This happen two times in the game, both in the 4th quarter where Johnson cut off his route early in front of the safety, and it happen on the last play when Schaub was almost intercepted. The big issue was the amount of traffic Schaub was trying to fit the football in to get it to Johnson. Johnson shouldn’t have cut his route off, but at the same time Schaub should not be trying to throw it to him with three defenders in the way. Schaub was very animated on the field and yelling at Johnson to continue his route, but Johnson did not like Schaub calling him out on the field. When they both arrived to the sideline more discussion ensued and they had to be separated by personnel. Johnson had enough and walked of the field before time was up, which raised questions on what was really going on. Johnson took the high road after the game calling it “his mistake”, but it was hard to buy that from the veteran wide receiver.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 15:30:01 +0000
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